The Notorious B.I.G. is no doubt on every Hip-Hop fan's short list of the greatest rappers of all time. Most importantly, B.I.G. was respected and revered by his peers in the game. Everyone from Jay Z to Tupac became captivated by his velvety flow and unparalleled rhyme style. He left behind a legacy that reached mythic status. Now for the first time the real Notorious B.I.G. is revealed in this fascinating film. Hear the stories firsthand from his closest friends and some of the biggest names in Hip-Hop -- Diddy, Method Man, Easy Mo Bee, Matty C, E-40, Raekwon and many more. See raw, uncut footage of B.I.G. freestyling on the streets of New York, rare home video footage, a never-before-seen interview done with Biggie shortly before his death and undisclosed footage from the night of his murder. Directed by renowned Hip-Hop documentary filmmaker Peter Spirer (the Beef series, Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel), this comprehensive film is definitive proof that the Notorious B.I.G. will always be Bigger than Life.

A few weeks ago, a well-known digging related website reviewed your 12” “think big”, which features notorious big as well as lord tariq. As far as I remember, this had to be recorded short after “party and b*******” came out, so Biggie wasn’t that big - how did you get in contact with him and finally get him on that track?

I knew Biggie for quite some time becasue we were both up and coming lyricists on the grind. A friend of mine, 9Hawk - who used to road manage Big Daddy Kane - put me on to him. We used to speak all the time and I had been Tupac's friend since he danced for Digital Underground so the song was bound to happen – I called him and I told him I wanted him on the song. He said he would come to the studio and I still paid him cause I had a deal. The only song he had out at the time was party and b*******.

"Basically, it's a poorly kept secret that D-Roc always kept a video camera with him when he was with Big. It was kinda his own personal diary. I don't think he ever meant to release the tapes," said Maiya. "He contacted me and wanted to straighten out the story [concerning the shooting] because it was making Kim look dumb, like she lied for no reason and was making Gutter and D-Roc just look like criminals. To this day, nobody knows why [Lil'] Cease took the stand against them. He was telling press that he didn't tell the police anything they didn't already know but D-Roc and Gutter are in jail for a shooting that there was no weapon for."

Life After Death: The Movie reveals the triumphs and trials of Biggie's close friend D-Roc (real name Damion Butler), and his associates, Lil' Kim and Junior M.A.F.I.A., after Biggie's passing. Narrated by Jamie Hector ("The Wire") and directed by April Maiya, the film follows those who were forced to move on after the 1997 shooting, via their own video footage. The film shows friends and group members as they traveled the world enjoying the fruits of their musical success and later documents the crew's unraveling, thanks primarily to the HOT 97 shootout that put Lil' Kim and D-Roc behind bars.

Diddy was on 106 & Park today to talk about Biggie and "Greatest Hits" and what have you. He did drop one bit of really interesting news - they are going to do a concert on Biggie's birthday (May 21) to celebrate his life and "everybody is going to be there." He said "hopefully" it would be at the Garden and to stay tuned. So... we'll see. Whatever they do, please sell a DVD for it!

I always find it interesting when small personal projects, like my Biggie Smalls portraits, strike a chord with a public audience and go on to have life of their own. Being of a certain age I wouldn't exactly call myself a rap or hip hop aficionado - but I do know a great face when I see one and Biggie Smalls was one cool looking guy. I came across some photos of the Notorious B.I.G. when I was researching possible images for a mural project I was working on - a 30' x 15' wall of my album cover paintings. The mural, now located in Jacksonville, FL, needed to have a wide cross section of musical styles represented and I was looking for recording artists that were well known to most people. I found two vintage black and white promotional images of Biggie that reminded me of the kind of old school look that the jazz cats of the 1950s and the Blues guys of the 1930 used to have - "Cool" as they could possibly be. ...

Several days after the album came out I was very surprised to get a photo emailed to me by Mick Boogie of him and P Diddy holding the CD with my album cover artwork (see below). I have received several emails from folks who appeared on the album expressing their appreciation of the cover and Mick is having me do a very large version of the cover done that will be given to P Diddy to hang up in the offices of Bad Boy Entertainment."